Air navigation service provider (ANSP) NATS, in collaboration with British aviation consultant Systems Interface, will provide new communication systems for Bristol Airport in the UK.

The partnership will replace the airport’s traditional voice communication system (VCS) with Austrian company Frequentis’s new internet protocol (IP)-based 3020X VCS system.

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Developed for IP radio and telephone connectivity, the new VCS 3020X is in line with the ED-137B European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment (EUROCAE) standard.

The Frequentis technology offers flexible integration of existing analogue and digital radio infrastructure and delivers a wide range of interfaces to external systems.

Systems Interface technical director Phil Heaney said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with NATS on such a prestigious contract.

“Our long and successful relationship with Frequentis, includes the delivery of many 3020X VCS systems to UK airports, ensures that NATS and Bristol Airport have the best possible technical and commercial solution available for this project.”

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Under the terms of the partnership, NATS will operate as the project manager of the overall communication modernisation programme at Bristol Airport.

Systems Interface will deliver, deploy and commission of the new Frequentis 3020X VCS as part of the upgrade project.

The air traffic management (ATM) systems integrator has already delivered control towers, navigational aids and meteorology systems projects across the UK.

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